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CHC Helicopter and Collective Magazine today announced that they have selected two scholarship winners from Whirly-Girls International for the 2018 CHC Safety and Quality Summit. The two winners, Melissa Hanthorn-Shantz and Samantha Hansen, will join more than 500 professionals at one of the aviation industry’s premiere safety events.

The scholarship package includes the conference attendance fee, flights, accommodations, meals and access to a two-day HFACS course that will be held around the main conference. This year’s summit will explore the theme “Building Safety at Every Level: Does this start at the top or with front line employees?”

Melissa Hanthorn-Shantz is completing her flight training as she prepares to become a flight instructor at North American Helicopter. In her scholarship application, she shared how her passion for aviation began on a glacier helicopter tour 20 years ago as well as her desire to give back to the larger aviation community. She is looking forward to the Summit to learn more about safety in specific situations, build her industry connections and share her learnings with other pilots and students during and after her training.

Samantha Hansen works as a certified flight instructor with an instrument rating at Mauna Loa Helicopters and wrote at length about her dedication to advancing her career in aviation and promoting safety. She has experience working for three different aviation operators at different levels and shared that the theme of the summit resonated with her as she has seen different programs and cultures at each company. She shared that she believes “this scholarship [and attending the Summit] will truly help me to understand what it is to be a safer employee, pilot and flight instructor, and that I can use this knowledge to help my students and the future generations of helicopter aviation.”

“Collective chose to sponsor this particular opportunity due to our previous relationship with the Whirly-Girls and our passion for supporting female aviators,” said Ryan Mason, CEO of Collective Magazine. “After attending the summit myself last year, I knew this was the right fit for us and for the Whirly-Girls that would benefit from the scholarship. I had the opportunity to speak with two scholarship attendees at last year’s event who explained how beneficial it was to them, not just in session content, which was fantastic, but also for the opportunities to network and engage with leaders from across the globe.”

“We have chosen two deserving aviators that will add a unique perspective to this year’s discussion during the Summit,” said Duncan Trapp, Vice President of Safety and Quality at CHC Helicopter. “We hope that Ms. Hanthorn-Shantz and Ms. Hansen are able to take the learnings and conversations at the show and deepen their commitment to safety as they continue to advance their already impressive aviation careers.”

The 14th annual summit will once again take place at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, located near Dallas, Texas, and will run from October 2 through October 4. More information can be found at www.chcsafetyqualitysummit.com.